Until Now
by Perydot
Summary: You hadn't really noticed it until now, but maybe there was something more to your relationship with the commander than a simple superior-subordinate relationship... [Erwin x Reader - Gift-fic - Mild language - Edited]


You hadn't really noticed it until now. It wasn't like you had much contact with the man in the first place. Before you were trusted enough to run paperwork back and forth from Erwin Smith's office to whichever squad leader, you had only seen him at the selection ceremony. To be quite honest, he scared and intimidated you. You had known of the risks involved with the Scouting Regiment, but actually hearing the man tell you that you may not come back alive from your first expedition struck the fear of God in you. It also struck a nerve, a nerve that told you that you should persevere and try your best for humanity's sake.

At first, you were just a normal fledgling member of the Scouting Regiment. You were frightened by Captain Levi's stoic and harsh discipline and training, caught off guard by Squad Leader Hanji Zoe's eccentricity, found it _very _odd that Squad Leader Mike Zacharius had a habit of sniffing people, and you got along with... _some _of your fellow Scouting Regiment inductees.

But then you proved yourself a trustworthy member of the Regiment, which meant that you were given the duty of passing important paperwork off from the commander himself to his squad leaders. In the beginning, Erwin would barely look up at you as you got the papers and scurried off to whoever needed them. He was a very busy man, you (and pretty much every person who ever lived within the Walls) knew very well. You just needed one look at the man's face to see the dark circles hanging underneath his eyes like moons, the stress permanently etched into his face. On your own accord, of course, you started bringing him tea. It was just a way to relax for however many minutes in his long days, really. But the first time you did it, he looked up at you with a look on his face that made you regret even _thinking_ about doing it. You were planning on asking Mikasa to hit you whenever you did something _this_ stupid when he smiled at you and said, "Thank you, Cadet…?"

You nearly shouted your name, quickly giving him a salute. (Thankfully in your rush, you didn't salute him in the wrong way. If Erwin Smith was anything like Keith Shadis, he would take the wrong salute very badly. Maybe he would get Levi to punish you... The thought made you quiver in your boots.)

After that, though, he made the effort of striking up a small conversation with you whenever you came into his office. It was just idle chit-chat that didn't really go anywhere, but you didn't really mind. It made it easier to be around him since your only real memories of him were as an intimidating man with a look that could scare Titans back to Hell. Soon that idle chit-chat turned into actual conversations that would delay your trips to the squad leaders. None of them really minded; only two of them actually said anything about it. (Squad Leader Hanji would say things that made your eyes go wide and your cheeks blush blood red; Captain Levi would make a scathing comment about your late arrival and call you a brat. You were sure he said some _other _things about it when you weren't around).

But it wasn't until now that you noticed it. Until Captain Levi came into the commander's office while you two were in the midst of one of those long conversations. You quickly stood up to give him a salute and he just stared at you with that stoic, harsh look of his. (He walked over and leaned down to look at you. It was a rather exaggerated thing to do considering you were _barely_ an inch shorter than him.) He scoffed at you before turning to look at the commander. He rested a hand on your shoulder and said, "I don't understand why you're so interested in this brat, Erwin. She can barely keep up during training. Even that Lenz girl has better skill than her."

Erwin stared at Levi's hand for the longest time, his eyebrows furrowed. You couldn't really read his face, but his voice was very clear in saying how he felt. "I would appreciate it if you didn't insult the cadets, Levi, at least while they're around. And, please, get your hand off of Cadet (L/N)." Levi scoffed, but did as he was told. Commander Erwin's eyes followed Levi's hand until it was at his side. He turned those blue eyes of his onto you and said, "You're dismissed, Cadet. Please deliver those papers to Hanji." You nodded and moved the fastest you have ever moved in your entire life just to leave the room.

"Maybe you should move that like during training," Levi commented as you closed Erwin's office door behind you.

You were scared of Captain Levi and rather embarrassed that he found you talking to the commander as though you two weren't superior and subordinate. He was sure to make some kind of comment about it to the other squad leaders, and that would get Hanji after you with questions that would make you blush red like an tomato. But it was after that little incident, you noticed.

Commander Erwin's protectiveness made you smile a too wide smile. Maybe it was because you had gotten more acquainted with him and he was just sticking up for you. Maybe it was because he didn't like Levi to make mean comments about the cadets. Maybe - you hoped - it was because he had grown to like you in _that_ way and he didn't want Levi to say mean things about you.

You wanted to ask him if that was true, but you knew he would never answer it the way you wanted him to. You were oddly okay with it, however. You were just happy (maybe a little bit too happy?) that you two didn't have a simple superior-subordinate relationship. You didn't know what kind of relationship you two had exactly, but it was something more than cordial and that was fine enough for you… for now.


End file.
